It's been 10 days since Ohio State's loss to Oregon, but Will Howard still wonders what he could have done differently to lift the Buckeyes past the Ducks.
Howard collected 326 passing yards and three touchdowns in the one-point defeat. However, the final play of the game, which saw Howard slide as time expired, marred an otherwise excellent performance for the Ohio State quarterback.
That play has haunted Howard for the past week-and-a-half.
“Believe me, I’ve played it over in my head a million different times – what I could have done," he said. "Could I have taken the first read and thrown it to Brandon Inniss and it’s a long field goal? Do I do that? But that’s taking a risk. I wanted to get our goal. We said we wanted 15 yards, so I was trying to get as many yards as I (could). I looked up and saw two seconds left, and I got down and I thought I had enough time. Do I look up a little earlier? Do I get down a little quicker? Believe me, it’s been nagging at me. I’m kicking myself in every way.”
With over a week to reflect on the moment, Howard still believes he slid with enough time for Ohio State to call a timeout and set up a potential game-winning field goal.
WILL HOWARD DOESN'T GO DOWN AND OREGON WINS pic.twitter.com/hjUVwCzGPE
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 13, 2024
“Yeah, I thought I was down with one second. But they didn’t feel like clearing the field with all the kids that were already on it,” he said. “It’s tough. But we always talk about leaving no doubt. I probably should gotten down even quicker to make sure we didn’t leave any doubt there.”
Earlier in the press conference, Ryan Day also shared his belief that Howard slid with time left on the clock. He revealed that Ohio State submitted the play to the league office for review, which the Buckeyes often do after games to seek clarification on officiating decisions, such as with Denzel Burke's controversial targeting call in the Western Michigan game.
“We sent it in. They said that there was no time left. Brandon was calling a timeout. I was next to the referee calling a timeout. You can see it on the coach's copy,” Day said. “They said time had run out.”
History will reflect as much. The scoreboard at Autzen Stadium showed 32-31 in favor of Oregon, and there's nothing Howard or Day can do to change that outcome now. But if Ohio State finds itself in a similar situation again, Day said he will do all he can to ensure the Buckeyes achieve a different outcome next time.
“It’s my job as the head coach to make sure that if we get into that situation again, we win the game,” Day said. “Trust me, nobody is working harder and nobody felt worse coming out of that game than I did. I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure it’s right.”
